Signs of (a) Life by Liam Samolis

Much like his beloved – and somewhat decrepit – cars, Liam Samolis (NOT his real name; that was changed in order to protect his wife and children from ridicule on the off chance some of their friends will read his work) is hurtling towards 50 with the brakes failing.

The painful loss of his father leads Liam to look back at his life as he contemplates the legacy he is leaving his own children; resulting in a hilarious, often self-deprecating, and ALWAYS brutally, side-splittingly, honest glimpse at the path that has led him to become the man that he is.

With stories about growing up as a painfully shy child in England, going to an all-boys’ school, and what can only be described as the most uproariously hysterical bar scene EVER written, Liam also recounts his days as a police officer, the births of his children, and saying goodbye to his father.

What began as a legacy to his children will send readers into peals of raucous laughter, likely leading them to tears and other unexpected bodily functions.

If you read one book this year, Signs of (a) Life should be it – nowhere else will you be so moved by a man simply living.

Finally, a gut honest personal journal written by a man that hits the pages of Signs of (a) Life with both serious and laugh-out-loud stories.

To begin with, Liam speaks of issues that we can all relate to as we stand in front of a mirror and are surprised to see the older, graying image of someone we barely recognize staring back.

Liam states this right off the bat, “Warning: this book contains within it accounts of real conversations which may therefore occasionally include naughty words and rude phrases. I’ve even made up some words of my own. That’s the real world for you.”

Within the 502 pages and 61 topics this author presents his half century of life experiences in a relaxed, well thought out format that lets the readers empathize with him. His stories involve experiences not just a man, but as a boy. Very few men will bare their souls to share experiences of awkwardness while moving from childhood into manhood. Liam shares some of his experiences while attending a single-sex school for boys. He shares his discovery of girls, cars and various medical issues.

Some of the most interesting stories involve his experiences as a police officer in England. The most touching are his stories about the birth of his children. Liam dedicates this book to his children.

I invite you to come laugh and cry with Liam Samolis as we wait to see what happens in his next fifty years of living.

I leave you with this quote from Liam. “Like the vast majority of men; I feel. I enjoy (which, by the way, seems to be an ‘allowed’ emotion), I grieve, I feel sad, I feel hurt. I screw up. At times I am emotionally vulnerable. And there is nothing – to my mind – remotely un-masculine about any of that; feeling is part of living – an integral part. In fact for me, feeling is THE essential part of living. Feeling can never be wrong in principle (because it simply happens without conscious intention) – and neither can displaying or being honest about our emotions. Being overtaken by emotions in a situation where action is necessary could, of course, be problematic, but feeling and showing our feelings is essential in the long term for our personal health. I wonder how much happier many men could be if their emotions were not effectively under lock and key? Hey – that almost rhymes.”

Cold Coffee Press endorses Signs of (a) Life by Liam Samolis as the honest account of a man living his life with all the human emotions that men typically try to avoid speaking about. We were given this book to review in a Kindle/PDF format. The review was completed on October 18, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

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